When her twins were born at just 29 weeks, their immediate admission to the NICU brought Sherita Barkley to Ronald McDonald House Charities of Eastern North Carolina. It wasn’t her first time at the House, years earlier, she had stayed for a day when her first set of twins were also in the NICU. Sadly, they didn’t make it home.

Walking back through the doors again, she recognized a few familiar faces. “From the very first day, people would stop and ask how my babies were doing or how my day was going,” she recalled. “That meant so much. I was constantly in my head, worrying, especially after what I’d been through, but it brought me peace to know that complete strangers truly cared.”

She spent 52 nights at RMHC of ENC this time around. Through the uncertainty, the House became a place of comfort, kindness, and connection, a support system during one of the hardest seasons of her life.